Scott was working with us now, because the kanima had attacked at the school. Had almost made Erica die.

And it wasn't just "the kanima" anymore. It was Jackson. Even though he had passed the test, it was still him.

Plus, Scott had said it needed a master. Someone was controlling him to kill the people he was killing. Including Isaac's and my dad.

Even though it had almost killed me, we didn't think it was supposed to. The kanima killed murderers, and last time I had checked, I hadn't killed anyone before.

But Derek had Isaac and me with him as we went to Scott's job at the animal clinic. Isaac and I were there because Derek knew we both wanted it dead.

Scott opened the door to the clinic, looking passed Derek to Isaac and me. "What are they doing here?"

"I need them," Derek told him as we walked past him.

"I don't trust them."

"Yeah, well, they don't trust you either," I said as I walked in, Isaac following behind me.

"And you know what?" Derek asked. "Derek really doesn't care. Now, where's the vet? Is he gonna help us or not?"

I sat down next to Isaac as we heard from the door frame behind us, "That depends. Your friend Jackson. Are we planning to kill him or save him?"

"Kill him," Derek said the same time Scott said, "Save him."

Scott looked at Derek. "Save him." Then he looked to the guy, the vet, his boss, behind us. "Save him."

I stood between Isaac and Derek with Scott on the other side of Isaac and Scott's boss across the metal table in front of us, putting a box on top of it.

I reached out for one of the little bottles, but Derek grabbed my wrist, pulling it away. "Watch what you touch."

I rolled my eyes as he let my wrist go, Isaac leaning against the table as Scott's boss took one of the little bottles before putting it back down.

"So, what are you, some kind of witch?" Isaac asked Scott's boss.

"No," he told him. "I'm a veternarian." He nodded. "Unfortunately, I don't see anything here that's gonna be an effective defense against a paralytic toxin."

"We're open to suggestions," Derek said.

"What about an effective offense?" I asked.

"We already tried," Derek went on. "I nearly took its head off and Argent emptied an entire clip into it. The thing just gets right back up."

"Has it shown any weaknesses?" Scott's boss asked, and Isaac straightened out.

"Well, one--it can't swim."

"Does that go for Jackson as well?"

"No," Scott answered. "He's the captain of the swim team."

"Essentially, you're trying to catch two people." He help up his finger, turning to pick something up and turning back to us with a coin that wasn't really a coin. "A puppet . . . and a puppeteer." Placing the coin down on the table, he went on. "One killed the husband, but the other had to take care of the wife. Do we know why?"

"I don't think Jackson could do it," Scott said. "His mother died pregnant too, and she was maybe murdered. I think he couldn't let the same happen to someone else."

"How do you know it's not apart of the rules?" Isaac asked. "The kanima kills murderers. If Jackson kills the wife, then the baby dies too."

"Does that mean you and Natalie's father was a murderer?"

I looked down, raising my eyebrows. "Wouldn't surprise me if he was. But that doesn't explain me."

"Didn't you say that he didn't bother with you afterwards?" Scott's boss asked, and I nodded. "Well, what if that was unintentional and he was just afte your father while you were at the wrong place at the wrong time?"

"I'd be lying if I said the thought hadn't crossed my mind," I replied.

"Hold on. The book says they're bonded, right?" I didn't answer, but Derek nodded. "What if the fear of water isn't coming from Jackson, but from the person controlling him? What if something that affects the kanima," he picked up a bottle full of black powder and started to pour it around the coin/not coin, "also affects its master?"

"Meaning what?" I asked.

"Meaning we can catch them," Scott answered. "Both of them."

Great. Awesome. Maybe. Not really.

At the rave, Erica, Isaac and I walked in together, looking like total badasses as we pulled the strips aside.

For a second, we just stood there, admiring the party.

Then we went on.

Scott wanted Isaac and Erica to distract Jackson and use a drug called ketamine to knock him out.

I saw the three of them dancing, watching them as Isaac was about to do the deed when Jackson clawed them both, saying in a deep monster voice, "He belongs to me."

The ketamine gun thing slid across the floor as a nearly paralyzed brother of mine tried to get it, but a dancer kicked it out of the way.

Jackson was stalking toward the back as I quietly picked up the ketamine plunger from the ground, standing behind Jackson and sticking it straight into his neck. I had heard what Scott had told Isaac earlier--find a vein, jam it in there, pull the trigger. And he had also said before that, in the neck is probably gonna be the easiest.

Then I pulled the lever back and held Jackson as he started to fall.

This felt kind of like revenge.

A little.

Jackson, Erica, Isaac and I were now in the same room. Jackson was passed out in a chair with us by the door.

The door opened and Erica immediately stood, about to attack Stiles.

"Uh, no, no, no!" Stiles said. "Just me. It's just me. Don't freak." He shut the door, looking at Jackson. "He okay?"

I walked closer to Jackson. 'Well, let's find out."

Spreading out my fingers, watching as my nails turned into long, murdering claws, and went to slash at Jackson's stomach.

Who caught my wrist before my claws could slash flesh, squeezing as hard as he could, my bones starting to crush together, breaking painfully. I groaned, sinking down to the ground. "God--"

When Jackson let my wrist go, I pulled it away, standing up next to Isaac, who looked down at my wrist with me as we watched it heal.

"Okay, no one ever does anything like that again, okay?" Stiles instructed, Erica nodding.

"Oh, I thought the ketamine was supposed to put him out," I said.

"Yeah, well, apparently this is all we're gonna get. So let's just hope that whoever's controlling him just decided to show up tonight."

Isaac and I both looked at Jackson when his eyes opened, using the monster voice again to speak. "I'm here. I'm right here with you."

I leaned against the wall next to the chair Isaac sat down in, Erica still by the door as Stiles walked closer to Jackson, leaning down, level with him. "Jackson, is this you?"

"Us. We're all here."

Looking from Erica, Isaac and me and back at Jackson, Stiles asked, "Are you the one killing people?"

"We are the ones killing murderers."

"So all the people you've killed so far--"

"Deserved it."

"See, we've got a little rule book that says you only go after murderers."

"Anything can break if enough pressure's applied."

"All right, so the people you're killing are all murderers then?"

"All. Each. Every one."

"Well, who did they murder?"

"Me."

Erica, Isaac and I exchanged confused glances.

"Wait, what?" Stiles went on. "What do you mean?"

"They murdered me," Jackson's monster voice repeated.

Both Isaac and I stood closer to Erica as Jackson started to shift into the kanima. His eyes were yellow and slitted, looking directly at Stiles. "They murdered me."

Stiles backed his way toward Isaac, Erica and I when Jackson's transformation sped up slightly, turning teal with a little noticeable amount of scales, his own claws growing.

"Okay, all right," Stiles said. "More ketamine. The man needs ketamine. Come on."

I looked stupidly at the ketamine gun, holding it up. "We don't have anymore."

Stiles shut his eyes in annoyance, looking toward me. "You used the whole bottle?"

I shrugged subtly, with an innocent look as he took it from me, Erica tapping on his shoulder, looking at Jackson.

Isaac, Stiles, and I turned our heads towards him, watching him stand, letting out a high-pitched screech, his head spinning in a blur.

"Um--okay, out," Stiles told us. "Everybody out."

Erica was the first one out with Stiles following, and Isaac said to me, "Go, go, go, go."

As soon as we were out, we closed the door, Erica and Stiles helping.

"Okay, find something to move in front of the door," Stiles said.

He apparently didn't know how strong Jackson was as the full-blown kanima as he launched himself out of the wall, disappearing.

Stiles had disappeared too. He had ran outside when Isaac, Erica and I walked out of the door, looking down at the ground to the black powder.

It was like a repellant. Like I didn't want to go through it. Isaac leaned down, looking at the powder, looking up at me and Erica.

Great. We were stuck in here.

Until Stiles broke the seal so Derek could run to help save Scott from one of the Argents.

What a bad job night this had been.